Lessons #187 and 188
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+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +
+ comments given in the actual delivery not in the note. +
+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +
+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +
+ GW = God’s Word Translation, ISV = International Standard Version, +
+ NAB=New English Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +
+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +
+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +
+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +
+AMP = Amplified Bible, UBS = United Bible Society +
+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +
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Avoidance of Sexual immorality (1 Cor 6:12-20)
.... 16 Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” 17 But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit. 18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. 19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
The message of 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 that we are considering is that Avoidance of sexual immorality requires a determination not to be controlled by anything of this life and understanding the body’s function, fate, and its various relationship to sex and God. In considering this message, we have considered two major propositions. The first is that avoidance of sexual immorality involves determination not to be controlled by anything in this life. A second is that avoidance of sexual immorality involves understanding facts about the body as it relates to sex and God. This proposition involves consideration of two concepts of the temporary function and fate of the body and its various relationships as given in our passage. We indicated that there are various relationships of the body that indicate believers should not be involved in sexual immorality. We have considered the first two relationships of the body to sex, the Lord and the future act of God. In our last study, we started to consider the third relationship of the body to Christ that indicates believers should not be involved in sexual relationship because believers’ bodies are members of Christ Himself. We considered the rhetorical question of verse 15; the point of which is that the apostle wants believers to recognize how awful it is for them to use their bodies for sexual immorality as that would be dishonoring to the Lord Jesus Christ. We merely began to expound what the Holy Spirit conveys to us through the apostle regarding sex and body. So, we continue with expounding what the Holy Spirit intended to convey to us about sex and the body considering our being parts of the body of Christ as given in 1 Corinthians 6:16-17.
The Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul conveyed to us that sexual immorality is generally due to ignorance of what sex means or implies, especially among believers who are engaged in sexual immorality. The world of unbelievers is woefully ignorant of what sex means other than two people copulating with each other. It is because of such misunderstanding that we hear such expression “it is just sex” when some want to excuse sinful conduct of those they admire for whatever reason. Christians should have a higher view of sex than just stating that it is merely two people copulating with each other. To ensure that we understand the high view of the concept of sex as it relates to the body, I will be saying things that may shock some of you but I believe they are necessary to get the attention of any person contemplating on sexual immorality, that is, sexual relationship outside the marriage bond. But before we get to what the Holy Spirit conveys to us through the apostle in 1 Corinthians 6:16, let me give you two biblical views about sex so that no believer should ever buy the slogan “it is just sex.” To this effect, we must go to the beginning of mankind and recorded accounts that involve sex to learn about two important biblical views of sex that are given in the book of Genesis.
A first biblical view of sex is that it is between a husband and a wife, duly recognized. When I use the term “duly recognized” I mean that the marriage between a man and a woman is one that is in keeping with the Scripture and confirmed by the society. Marriage is not a prerogative for humans to define what it means. God’s design is for a man to be married to a woman and this should be recognized by the society. This means that a man and a woman living together without fulfilling the norm by which a man and a woman become recognized as husband and wife in a given society have not met God’s standard and subsequently not confirmed as husband and wife by the society, even if that arrangement is tolerated. This aside, there is no passage in Genesis that explicitly describes sex as being in the terms we have stated. However, God declared this to be the case both in the establishment of marriage and some of His actions revealed in Genesis. The first marriage, part of its institution which is quoted in 1 Corinthians 6:16, implies that sex is between a man and his wife, as we read in Genesis 2:24:
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
The concept of sex between a man and his wife is conveyed first with the word “united” that is translated from a Hebrew word (dābaq) that here means “to cling,” to convey not only sexual relationship but permanence of the union of a man and his wife. Then sexual relationship is conveyed in the sentence they will become one flesh. We will consider this sentence later in our study. Meanwhile, Genesis 2:24 is the most direct fashion that the Lord communicated that sex should be between a man and his wife. However, there are other ways that God communicated this truth. His handling of two kings mentioned in Genesis convey that sex outside marriage bound is not permissible by Him or endorsed by Him. When Abraham entered Egypt and lied about his relationship with Sarah; Pharaoh of Egypt took her into his harem, but God showed His displeasure by inflicting diseases on him and his household. This caused Pharaoh to realize that he should not have sex with Sarah because she was a married woman, as indicated in Genesis 12:14–17:
14 When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that she was a very beautiful woman. 15 And when Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. 16 He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels. 17 But the LORD inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram’s wife Sarai.
The other king was Abimelech when the same situation that occurred in Egypt was repeated in Gerar but this time God intervened directly by warning him through a dream about not having sex with Sarah, as we read in Genesis 20:2–6:
2 and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” Then Abimelech king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her. 3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream one night and said to him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.” 4 Now Abimelech had not gone near her, so he said, “Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? 5 Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister,’ and didn’t she also say, ‘He is my brother’? I have done this with a clear conscience and clean hands.” 6 Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her.
By the time the law was given, it is conveyed clearly that sex is to be between a man and his wife since any other sexual relationship outside marriage bond attracted death penalty. There are, of course, some exceptions to death penalty such as the case of a rape of a woman who is betrothed to another man where only the man was to be punished by death on the condition that the lady was truly helpless. There is also the exception to death penalty in the case where a man seduces a virgin who was not betrothed to a man, in which case, he must marry her with a fine or be fined even if the father refused the marriage but with the stipulation that as long as he is alive he could never divorce the woman, as stated in Deuteronomy 22:28–29:
28 If a man happens to meet a virgin who is not pledged to be married and rapes her and they are discovered, 29 he shall pay the girl’s father fifty shekels of silver. He must marry the girl, for he has violated her. He can never divorce her as long as he lives.
These references we have cited, indicate that God intends for sex to be only between a man and a woman who is his wife; so, the first biblical view of sex is that it is between a husband and a wife, duly recognized.
A second biblical view of sex is that sex is never free of obligation and commitment by way of marriage. In effect, there is no such thing as “just sex” or “casual sex,” that is, sex without any string attached. Such a concept is antithetical to God’s design for sex. Again, there is no direct statement to this effect, but God demonstrated this truth quite early in recorded history of the Israelites. This was illustrated with the family of Judah when his first son, Er, died and he advised his second son, Onan, to get involve in levirate marriage that require him to marry his brother’s widow to raise at least a son for his brother or one that carries the name of his brother, but he reneged that responsibility by having sex with the sister-in-law but refused impregnating her by practicing what is described today as coitus interruptus which is a fanciful way of saying that a man withdraws from a woman during sexual act to avoid the possibility of her becoming pregnant. The full description is given in Genesis 38:8–10:
8 Then Judah said to Onan, “Lie with your brother’s wife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to produce offspring for your brother.” 9 But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his; so whenever he lay with his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from producing offspring for his brother. 10 What he did was wicked in the LORD’S sight; so he put him to death also.
My concern at this point is not to go into details as to what happened here or the reason for Onan’s conduct such as being afraid of reducing his family inheritance if he fathered a child for Er but the fact that the Lord killed him for spilling his semen on the ground during sexual intercourse with the sister-in-law. Of course, if you are interested in the details of this passage then you may consult our study of this passage in Genesis at Berean Bible Church website beginning with lesson #286. Our concern is to answer the question of why the Lord was displeased with Onan to put him to death. In a short way, it is because Onan was evil in that he tried to circumvent his responsibility of impregnating his sister-in-law while being willing to have sex with her. His death communicates that biblical view that sex that should only occur in marriage relationship is an activity that should never take place without the man being first committed to the woman in marriage and being willing to assume the responsibility associated with sex that includes having children. Hence, we contend that biblical view of sex is that it is an activity that requires commitment in marriage and never an activity that absolves a person from responsibility of any kind as we hear today of such thing as sex without strings attached. Anyway, with these two biblical views of sex from Genesis, we turn our attention to the biblical view of sex as the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul gives us in 1 Corinthians 6:16-17.
The biblical view of sex the Holy Spirit gives in the passage we are studying is that sex is more than copulating of a man and a woman. Sex creates a unique bond between the two individuals involved of the type that should exist only between a husband and a wife by God’s design. In effect, it is God’s plan that the first time a man enters the body of a woman who is supposed to be the wife, there is an invisible bond that is created by God’s design. In other words, sex between a man and a woman at the consummation of the marriage creates a seal over the bond created by sex that is not to be tampered with by either party. It is probably because of the uniqueness of this bond that adultery is one of the strongest reasons for divorce since sex outside marriage destroys the seal over the unique bond between a husband and his wife. Nevertheless, forgiveness of infidelity heals that broken seal. That aside, the biblical view of sex in the passage we are studying is that sex creates a unique bond between the man and the woman involved. Therefore, if they are not married then they live a lie in that they have created a bond that though real, cannot be sustained because they are not married. It is this biblical view that sex creates a unique bond between a man and woman of the type that belongs only to marriage that the Holy Spirit through the apostle presented in the passage of 1 Corinthians 6:16-17 we are about to study.
The apostle conveys the truth we have stated through a rhetorical question of 1 Corinthians 6:16 Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? This is the fifth time in this sixth chapter that the apostle begins a verse with the expression Do you not know...? We have indicated previously that the apostle’s use of the question implies that the Corinthians have been taught the truth that warranted the question since no one knows truth until it is taught to the person. Consequently, the apostle must have taught truth to the Corinthians concerning the fact contained in the question he posed. In effect, the expression Do you not know implies that the apostle had instructed the Corinthians concerning the appropriate view of sex as that which involves creation of unique bond between a man and a woman involved in it. Anyway, to understand that what the apostle stated in the rhetorical question is that sex creates a unique bond between a man and a woman of the type God intended only for marriage, we need to examine the key words used in the rhetorical question that enable us to make the statement we have made.
A first key word is the word “unites” in the NIV that is translated from a Greek word (kollaō) that has several meanings. The word may mean “to hire oneself out to someone” as it is used in the narrative of the parable of the Lord Jesus about a compassionate father and his wayward son that is often regarded as the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15:15:
So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs.
The word may mean “to join oneself” to a wife as it used in quotation from Genesis about the first marriage although the translators of the NIV used the meaning “united” in Matthew 19:5:
and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?
The verbal phrase be united to his wife is literally be joined to his wife. The word, however, may mean “to join” in the sense of being a member of a group as it is used to indicate that people in Jerusalem did not dare to belong to the group of believers unless they indeed were believers, as we read in Acts 5:13:
No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people.
The word may mean “to stick to” as it is used of the sands that stuck to the sandals of the disciples that are to be shaken off when they leave a region that rejected their message, as stated in Luke 10:11:
‘Even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near.’
The word may mean “to associate with” on intimate terms as the word is used for the uniqueness of Peter coming to Cornelius’ house in Acts 10:28:
He said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean.
The word may mean “to stay near” as in the instruction of the Holy Spirit to Philip, the evangelist, in connection with the Ethiopian eunuch, according to Acts 8:29:
The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”
The word may mean “to become a follower or disciple of someone” as it is used to describe those who responded to the gospel message that Apostle Paul preached, according to Acts 17:34:
A few men became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.
The word may mean “to cling” as it is used for the instruction of the Holy Spirit to the Roman believers and so all believers in Romans 12:9:
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.
The word may mean “to pile up” of sins as it is used regarding Babylon in Revelation 18:5:
for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 6:16, the word is used in the sense of “to join oneself to another” in a sexual sense. Of course, the word is used to describe what will occur when a person is involved in sexual relationship with a prostitute. In other words, although we have a present participle in the Greek the intent is not to say that there is a continuous sexual relationship between a person and a prostitute but to make a general statement to describe what is true any time there is sexual relationship between a man and a female prostitute. The result of such an act is given in the verbal phrase of 1 Corinthians 6:16 is one with her in body although literally the Greek reads is one body. The phrase with her is not in the Greek but added by English translators to make the literal verbal phrase more understandable by an English reader The verbal phrase is one with her in body leads to the second key word that we need to consider.
The second key word is the word “one” of the NIV that is translated from a Greek word (heis) that basically means “one” as a numerical term. However, it is used with different meanings. The word may mean “one in contrast to more than one” as it is used to describe the first man through whom sin entered the world, as stated in Romans 5:12:
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned—
It may mean “one in contrast to the parts, of which a whole is made up” as it is used to describe the new humanity that is in Christ that is different from the two existing classification of humanity into Jews and Gentiles in Ephesians 2:15:
by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace,
The word may mean “single” as it is used to describe the summary of the law in Galatians 5:14:
The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
The word may mean “the first” as it is used in Apostle Paul’s instruction to the Corinthians regarding how to carry out their preparation of gift for believers in Jerusalem by setting aside certain amount on Sundays as in 1 Corinthians 16:2:
On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.
The word may mean “one and the same” as it is used to indicate that Jacob and Esau had the same father in Romans 9:10:
Not only that, but Rebekah’s children had one and the same father, our father Isaac.
The word may mean “alone” as in the declaration of the Pharisees and teachers of the Law that it is God alone that can forgive sins as narrated in Luke 5:21:
The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
The word may refer to an indefinite article “a” or it may mean “certain” as that is the way the word is used to describe the fig tree that Jesus cursed, according to Matthew 21:19:
Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.
In the two occurrences of the word in our passage of 1 Corinthians 6:16, it means “one in contrast to the parts, of which a whole is made up” so that the sense of the word is “single.” This implies that the parts of something have become combined in some fashion to form a unit or have become fused or bonded into a single entity so to say. In our passage what is fused or bonded into a single entity that is not necessarily physical is given in the phrase one with her in body. This leads to the third key word we want to consider.
The third key word is the word “body” of the NIV that is translated a Greek word (sōma) that is used both literally and figuratively. We considered this word in our last study, so we review what we considered although we cite some passages that are different from those cited previously. Literally, it is used for the body of a human being or an animal as in the instruction of the Lord Jesus not to worry regarding the basic needs of a person that are concerned with food and clothes, as we read in Matthew 6:25:
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?
The body may refer to a dead body or corpse as it is used to describe Jesus’ corpse that Joseph of Arimathea requested and obtained from Pilate after Jesus’ crucifixion so he could bury it, as we read in John 19:38:
Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away.
The body may refer to a living body such as one that is involved in sexual immorality as stated in Romans 1:24:
Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.
Figuratively, the apostle uses the word “body” to refer to the Christian community. Hence, Apostle Paul tells the believers in Rome that they form one body as conveyed in Romans 12:5:
so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
To the Corinthians, the apostle indicated they are the body of Christ in 1 Corinthians 12:27:
Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
The phrase body of Christ here in 1 Corinthians 12 refers to the church of Christ, as Apostle Paul used it in Ephesians 5:23:
For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.
The word may mean “nature” as in Colossians 2:11:
In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ,
The word may mean “the thing itself, the reality” in imagery of a body that casts a shadow as the word is used in Colossians 2:17:
These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.
The clause the reality, however, is found in Christ is literally and the body is of the Christ. The word may mean “physical” as it is used to describe the needs of a destitute believer in James 2:16:
If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?
The phrase his physical needs is literally the things needful for the body. The word may refer to an “entire person” as it is used to describe the corrupting activity of the tongue in James 3:6:
The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
The sentence It corrupts the whole person is literally defiling the whole body. It should be clear that the corrupting influence of the tongue is on the entire person that includes body and soul and not merely the physical body. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 6:16, it is used in the sense of a living physical body.
The key words we examined on a surface understanding of the clause he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body would mean that when a man has sex with a prostitute or anyone woman who is not the individual’s wife that a single body is formed. This does not make sense physically. In other words, sex in a physical sense does not result in the fusion of two bodies into a single body of those involved in sex, that of resultant child is a different matter. This then tells us that the apostle did not mean that a single body is formed when there is sexual intercourse between a man and a woman that is not his wife. Therefore, there must be a deeper meaning or explanation of what the apostle means. Hence, it is our interpretation that sexual intercourse between a man and a woman that are not married to each other creates a unique bond between them of the type that exists only between a husband and a wife by God’s design. This unique bond although a reality defies human understanding. This, in effect, conveys that sex between a man and his wife is something special and in fact mysterious in its nature. Thus, sex is not just sex as people say.
We are confident of our interpretation because of the citation of the Scripture regarding the institution of marriage that the apostle referred in the second clause 1 Corinthians 6:16 For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” This quotation is given as a justification or the reason for the expected understanding of the rhetorical question of 1 Corinthians 6:16 as we explained because of the word “for” that begins the clause. It is translated from a Greek conjunction (gar) that has several usages but, in our passage, it is used as a marker of reason or justification for the interpretation of what the apostle meant in the rhetorical question. In other words, the reason for saying that sex between a man and a woman creates a unique bond is because of God’s original design in marriage. Before we consider the quotation, we should observe that the word “flesh” used in the quotation is not that different from the word “body” used in the rhetorical question of 1 Corinthians 6:16. The way to prove this is to consider the word “flesh” in the quotation.
The word “flesh” is translated from a Greek word (sarx) that may refer to the material that covers the bones of a human or animal body hence means “flesh” as it is used for the ritual of circumcision in Galatians 6:13:
Not even those who are circumcised obey the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your flesh.
The word may mean “ordinary way” as it is used to describe the birth of Ishmael by Hagar in Galatians 4:23:
His son by the slave woman was born in the ordinary way; but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a promise.
The word may mean “human effort” as in Galatians 3:3:
Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?
The phrase by human effort is literally by the flesh. The word may mean “one” as it is used in conveying that not one human being can be justified before God by the law in Galatians 2:16:
know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.
The sentence no one will be justified is literally no flesh will be justified but flesh is not to be taken literally as soft tissue that covers the bones but here has the sense of a person or one. The word may mean “body, physical body” as it is used to reinforce the point that a husband should love the wife as himself, as indicated in Ephesians 5:29:
After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church—
The word may mean “unspiritual” as it is used in Colossians 2:18:
Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions.
The phrase unspiritual mind is literally fleshly mind. The word may mean “sensual” as it is used in Colossians 2:23:
Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.
The word may mean “person, human being” as the word is used in the priestly prayer of our Lord to refer to His authority over humans in John 17:2:
For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him.
The phrase over all people is literally over all flesh. The word may mean “human nature” in a neutral sense of not being concerned with its activities as it is used to describe Jesus Christ in Romans 1:3:
regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David,
The word may mean “sinful nature” as it is used in Romans 8:5:
Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.
The phrase the sinful nature is literally the flesh but the apostle does not mean “flesh” as that which covers the bones of humans since he was contrasting between living a life that is controlled by one’s own human nature and living the life that is controlled by the Holy Spirit. Thus, the meaning “sinful nature” of the NIV captures the sense of the Greek word in Romans 8:5. The word may refer to human or ancestral connection and so means “human/mortal nature, earthly descent” as it is used to indicate that human ancestry of Jesus is connected to Israel as we read in what the apostle stated as he narrated the privileges of Israel in Romans 9:5:
Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.
The word may refer to “the outward side of life as determined by normal perspectives or standards” as Apostle Paul used it to describe the status of most of the Corinthians prior to their salvation, as we read in 1 Corinthians 1:26:
Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.
The phrase by human standards is literally according to flesh. The word may mean “world” as it is used in 2 Corinthians 10:2:
I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 6:16, the word is used in the sense of “flesh,” that is, the soft tissue of the human body. Thus, flesh here is synonymous to body.
The quotation in 1 Corinthians 6:16“The two will become one flesh” is, as we stated previously, from the Septuagint of Genesis 2:24:
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
In the original text, the phrase for this reason refers to the entire narrative of the creation of the woman that includes the reason for creating her and the fact that she was taken from the man. Since the wife is taken originally from the husband, it can be said that the two are of the same flesh. However, the sentence the two will become one flesh describes something that will be true of all future husbands and wives. This means that there is more to the concept expressed in the phrase one flesh. It includes the sexual union that follows marriage, the children conceived in marriage, but it seems that the focus of the phrase is to indicate that husbands and wives are in a relationship or bond like no other in this life. Although, children are the result of the sexual relationship between these two, but their children are not even described as one flesh with them although children are more closely related to their parents by blood than husband and wife. Of course, husbands and wives are ultimately blood relatives because they are descended from Adam and Eve or more specifically, they are from one of the three sons of Noah. This notwithstanding, it is the unique relationship or bond between them that is like no other that is the focus of the phrase one flesh. This interpretation thus supports the interpretation we gave regarding the clause of 1 Corinthians 6:16 he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body. Recall that our interpretation is that sex creates a unique bond between a man and a woman who gets involved in it. This bond, we stated is one that is not physical nor is it easy to comprehend but it is a reality with God. This mysterious nature of the bond is further evident in what the apostle says next in 1 Corinthians 6:17 introduce with the word but.
The conjunction but communicates the contrast that is to be true of a believer. In contrast to being in a unique bond that is mysterious in nature with another human being through sexual immorality, the believer is already in a unique relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. It is this truth that is stated in the clause of 1 Corinthians 6:17 he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit. Literally, the Greek reads the one joining with the Lord is one spirit. The word Lord refers to Jesus Christ since that is the word the apostle often uses to describe Jesus Christ unless he quotes from the OT. Furthermore, what the apostle stated in preceding verses 14 and 15 indicate that the Lord refers to Christ. Take for example, the clause of verse 14 God raised the Lord from the dead. That aside, what the apostle wrote he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit is difficult to comprehend on a surface reading, especially, because of the word “spirit.”
The word “spirit” is translated from a Greek word (pneuma) that may mean “wind”, as in the description of what the Lord makes His angels in Hebrews 1:7:
In speaking of the angels he says, “He makes his angels winds, his servants flames of fire.”
The word may mean “breath” as Apostle Paul used it to describe the manner of the destruction of the future lawless one by the Lord Jesus in 2 Thessalonians 2:8:
And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming.
The word may mean “spirit” as that which after death lives as independent being in heaven, according to Hebrews 12:23:
to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect,
It may mean “spirit” as part of human personality with various nuances. For example, it may refer to a person’s “very self” or “ego” as it is used by Apostle Paul in describing the assurance of the Holy Spirit to believer regarding salvation in Romans 8:16:
The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
According to the standard Greek English lexicon of BDAG, the sentence The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit is better translated the Spirit (of God) bears witness to our very self. The word may refer to the immaterial part of a person in contrast to the material body, as Apostle Paul used it in his statement in Colossians 2:5:
For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how orderly you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.
Under this meaning of the immaterial part of a person, it could refer to the source and seat of insight, feeling, and will, generally as the representative part of human inner life so that it may mean “mind”, as the word is rendered in Apostle Paul’s description of his state when he could not find Titus, as we read in 2 Corinthians 2:13:
I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said good-by to them and went on to Macedonia.
The phrase peace of mind is literally rest in my spirit. Still in this meaning, it could refer to “spiritual state, state of mind, disposition”, as it is used to describe the disposition that a believing wife should have to be considered beautiful in 1 Peter 3:4:
Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.
As suggested in the standard Greek English lexicon of BDAG, the phrase quiet spirit may be translated quiet disposition. The Greek word may mean “spirit” as an independent noncorporeal being, in contrast to a being that can be perceived by the physical senses. Consequently, it is used for created spirit-beings whether their function is good or bad. Apostle Paul used it to describe harmful spirits that will attempt to deceive people, as he presented in 1 Timothy 4:1:
The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.
The word may mean God’s being as controlling influence, with focus on association with humans hence means “Spirit.” Accordingly, Apostle Paul used it to describe God the Holy Spirit using different phrases. For example, he described the Holy Spirt as the Spirit of God in Philippians 3:3:
For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh—
He described the Holy Spirit as “Spirit of Jesus Christ” in Philippians 1:19:
for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 6:17, it means “spirit” in the sense of the transcendental, immaterial, rational existence that constitutes the essence of God. Thus, it is the spirit that indicates believers share in God’s life and differentiates us from unbelievers. In fact, it is that which separates us from purely human part of our nature.
It is incomprehensible to the human mind as to how a believer can be one with Christ who is Spirit. However, we understand this being one in the spirit with Christ as a description of the unique bond between the Lord and believers. In other words, we are one in spirit with the Lord Jesus in the sense that we are in union with Him. This doctrine we cannot understand rationally but it is a reality that exists before God. Thus, the clause of 1 Corinthians 6:17 he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit is a further way of saying to us that sex between a man and a woman creates a bond though, a reality with God, is incomprehensible by humans. Nonetheless, the fact there is a unique bond created in sex means that a believer should not be involved in sexual immorality because it is not in keeping with God’s word for the believer to live a lie in which the individual continues to be bonded uniquely with someone that is not the wife as that is contrary to God’s design that sex between a husband and his wife should create a unique bond between them. Furthermore, because believers are in union with Christ, they should not be involved in a bonding that is not authorized by the Lord. The bonding of a husband and the wife in sex is authorized and honoring to the Lord but not sexual immorality. Hence, believers should avoid sexual immorality.
12/06/19